Overview

• Shieh’s DOGE-style emails for his Bloat@Brown project contacted almost 4,000 administrators and used AI to assess the necessity of 3,805 non-instructional staff roles.
• Brown opened a student conduct review in early April over his use of campus data but cleared him of all allegations on May 14.
• During his June 4 testimony, Shieh highlighted a ratio of one non-instructional staff member per 1.9 undergraduates and a median family income exceeding $200,000 to underscore elite university costs.
• He called on Congress to subpoena President Christina Paxson for documents on administrative growth and to safeguard student journalists and whistleblowers from institutional retaliation.
• Lawmakers at the hearing also considered whether Ivy League financial aid policies violated antitrust laws, referencing a 2022 price-fixing lawsuit that led to a nearly $20 million Brown settlement.